Selander takes white jersey in grand tour debut

Not a bad way to start out your grand tour career, eh? | Graham Watson photo

TORINO, Italy (VN) – It wasn’t a bad start to the Giro d’Italia for Bjorn Selander, who earned kisses from the podium girls on the first day of his grand tour debut.

With RadioShack swarming to second place in the team time trial, Selander claimed the white jersey awarded to the best young rider.

The 23-year-old was right in the thick of the action as RadioShack nearly pulled of a surprise win. Seven RadioShack riders crossed the line just 10 seconds slower than HTC-Highroad led by veteran sprinter Robbie McEwen.

“We had a good ride today. The team was really focused on having a good performance in the team time trial,” Selander told VeloNews at the finish line in Torino. “It was a difficult course with a lot of potholes, rail lines, some tight corners. We kept the team together.”

It initially appeared that Eros Capecchi from Liquigas-Cannondale was going to claim the best young rider’s jersey after Liquigas-Cannondale was the second-best team behind HTC at 22 seconds off the pace. RadioShack started second-from-last and blazed to the line to deliver Selander a trip to the podium.

“This is my first grand tour, so I will help the team out when I can,” Selander said. “I hope to make it to Milan. I know it’s going to be a very hard Giro.”